April 7, 1943 - William Calley
The My Lai massacre, in which hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians were killed by U.S. forces, produced only one criminal conviction — his. Calley's court-martial and the events surrounding it became a focal point for debates about military accountability, command responsibility, and the conduct of the Vietnam War at large. President Nixon's intervention to place him under house arrest rather than prison, and his eventual pardon, shaped how the American public reckoned with the episode for decades.
From Wikipedia
William Laws Calley Jr. (June 8, 1943 – April 28, 2024) was a United States Army officer and war criminal, convicted by court-martial of the murder of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. Calley was released to house arrest under orders by President Richard Nixon three days after his conviction. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia granted him a new trial, but that ruling was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His initial life sentence having been modified to a term of 20 years and then further reduced to ten, Calley ultimately served three years of house arrest for the murders. Public opinion at the time about Calley was divided. After his dismissal from the U.S. Army and release from confinement, Calley avoided public attention.
Calley died on April 28, 2024 at the age of 80. His death went publicly unnoticed for three months until it was discovered in public records.
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